Los Angeles daily herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1884-1890, 1887-06-23
COLORs AND EMOTIONS.
The sense of Color as Ola as
the Gnawt ing of Hunger.

the Gnawing of Hunger.
The theories of Gladstone and Magnus
that the men of the Homeric era were
color blind, because of the absence from
the Homeric poems of certain words ex-
pressive Of certain colors, have been dis.
proved by more thorough modern re-
search. The primitive mans sense OF
color, or the sensitiveness of his retina to
other vibrations, may not have been as
fine as that of the Roman mosaic worker
who could select his material of 10000
different tints, por as that OF the Gobe-
Inns weaver, who can recognize %, 600
different shades of wool. But the evi.
dence goes to show that the sense OF
color is old as the gnawing Of hunger or
the pangs of fear-old as the experience
that taught living creatures to discern
food and to flee from dranger. There is,
however, reason to suppose, from certain
developmental phenomena observed
in the eyes of children and
newly born animals. that the
present condition of the color sense has
been gradually reached-not 80 much IN
any particular species as in all species
possessing it--just as vision itself must
have been gradually acquired. Also
snowy eolors must have been perceived
before tints could be discerned, and even
now we know, through the spectre
scope, that the human eye is not yet
developed to the fullest possible percep.
lions of color.
Now the first colors recognized by the
first eyes must have presumably been
lust those we call primary-yellow, red,
green, blue. Yellow, the color OF gold,
is also the color of our sun; the brightest
daylight has O more or less faint tinge,
even at noon, according to the state OF
the atmosphere; and this tint deepens
at sunrise and sunset. Red is the
color of blood-a color allied ne
cessarily from time lmmemorial
with violent mental impressions,
whether of war, of love or OF the chase,
or religious sacrifice. Green itself is the
color Of the world. Blue-the blue of
the faraway sky--has necessarily always
been for man the color most mysterious
and holy--always associated with those
high phenomena of heaven which first
inspired wonder and fear of the I'M
known. These colors were probably
first known to intelligent life; and their
impressions are to-day the strongest. So
violent, indeed, have they become
to our refined sense, that in
apparel or decoration three of
them, at least, are condemned when Of
fered pure. Even the armies OF the
world are abandoning red uniforms; no
refined people wear flaming crimsons or
scarlets or yellows; nobody would paint
q house or decorate wall with solid
sheet of strong primary color. Blue is
still the least violent, the most agreeable
to the artistic sense; and in subdued
form it holds place in costume and in
art refused to less spiritual colors.
THE STRONGER EMOTIONS.
1t must consequently be expected
there should exist some correlation be-
tween the primary colors and the
stronger emotional states OF man. And
such, indeed, proves to be the case.
Emotionally the colors come in the order
of red, yellow, green and blue. Red
still appeals to the idea of passion-for
which very reason its artistic use is
being more and more restrained. Very
curious are the researches made by
Grant Allen showing this fact of the
sensual use of red. In Swinburne's "Po-
ems and Ballads" 1.-THE same suppressed
work republished in this country under
its first title, CLAUS Veneris''), the red
epithets appear l59 times, while gold,
green and blue words occur respectively
I43, sc and 25 times. In Tennyson's
beautiful poem, "The Princess, the red
words occur only 20 times, the gold %,
the green s, the blue once. With all
his exquisite sense of color, Tennyson is
sparing of diectives-therc is no false
skin to his work; it is solid muscle and
bone.
Next to red, the most emotional color
is yellow-the color of life, and OF what
men seem to prize next to life, gold.
We fancy we can live without green
sometimes; it comes third; but it is the
hue associated with all the labors of man
on the earth since he began to labor. 1t
is the color of industry. Blue has al
ways been, since man commenced to
think, and always will be, until he shall
have ceased to think, associated
with his spiritual sense, his
idea of many gods or OF
One, his hopes of a second life. his
faith, his good purposes, his perception
of duty. Still, all who pray turn mp
their faces toward the eternal azure.
And with the modern expansion OF the
idea of God, "a with the modern expan-
sion of the idea of the universe, the
violent gulf of space ever seems more
mystical, its pure color more and more
divine, and appeals to us as the color OF
A. T. he aOlNr nf tho HnlU